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Say ‘ciao’ to any entente cordiale

April 20 2011, 1:01am, The Times

The fear of many Italian politicians is clear: “They’ll get all the oil and we’ll get all the immigrants.” Italy is again battling France, an historic rival which has seized the initiative in its former colony of Libya.

Relations are now so tense that right-wing politicians in Italy are calling for a boycott of French products such as Champagne and Camembert.

Not only do Italians view France as making a move for their ex-colony, they also dislike the way in which French firms are buying up Italian brands — most recently the fabled jeweller Bulgari. They are also making a run at the dairy giant Parmalat.

France is refusing to help Italy to deal with the thousands of “boat people” from Tunisia — most of whom…

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